The Life and Times of Lily Luna Potter
by AmberBrightEyes
Summary: One-shots of Lily's life during and after Hogwarts. Featuring various family members, painful moments and hilarity in abundance. Epilogue-compliant.
1. The Time Rose Dumped Scopius

**The Time Rose Dumped Scorpius**

Scorpius apparated to the edge of the wards of the Potter Family home on instinct. When the wards acknowledged his presence and let him in, he walked up the driveway only to find an empty house.

"Merlin fuck it," he muttered. He wasn't sure what he wanted, but an empty Potter home was not it. He was about to head back and go to who-knows-where to find Albus and cool off, when he heard a voice coming from outside.

"...can you dance like a hippogriff, nah nah nah, nah nah nah, nah nah nah..."

_What the in the name of Hades hat? _Scorpius thought in surprise. He didn't know any of the Potters had the capability of singing. Not from what he had witnessed at their Christmas parties, anyway.

Curiosity overrode the mess of other uncomfortable emotions rushing around inside him, and he headed out the back door to the shed at the end of the garden.

"...ah boogie down like a unicorn, and don't stop 'til the break of dawn. Spin around like a crazy elf..."

As he got closer to the shed he realised it was Lily. _She's not too bad at singing to be honest. But, Merlin, The Weird Sisters? Really? Not much taste in music_, thought Scorpius, now thoroughly amused.

He poked his head inside the shed and saw Lily with her back to him, covered in grease and working on Sirius Black's old motorbike, which Harry had gifted her years before. He had heard from Albus that she was making some adjustments now that she had gotten home from her travelling in Europe.

"...get it on like an angry spectre, who's definitely out to get ya..." Now she was swinging her hips from side to side with the beat as well.

Scorpius felt like it was time to make his presence known.

"Er, Lily?"

Faster than lightning, Lily spun around, wand in hand, red hair flying. There was a BANG and he felt himself flying backwards out the shed door as his wand left his pocket, spinning through the air to land in Lily's right hand.

"Scorpius?!" she cried in surprise as he landed with a THUMP on his back. Then she started cackling.

"Jeez Lily," he wheezed, the wind knocked out of him, "You have one hell of a Disarming Charm." He accepted the hand she gave him to help hoist himself off the ground.

Still cackling she dusted him off and waved her wand. He felt the tightness in his chest loosen and he drew in a full breath in relief.

"Thanks," he said.

"No worries," Lily chortled, "To what to I owe the pleasure of your acquaintance Mr Malfoy?"

Scorpius fell silent, the smile sliding off his face.

Lily stopped chuckling and frowned.

"Well, its Rose," Scorpius started, not really sure why he was spilling his guts to his best mate's little sister, "She...well, she just dumped me, Lil."

He saw her eyes widen in shock, then the calm mask slid over her face. She led him over to an old trunk in the shed and sat him down amongst the dust.

"Tell me what happened," she said.

So he ended up telling her everything. How she met Olly Jordan in Diagon Ally again a few weeks ago and they started talking. How she said that she just wasn't happy anymore, they never did anything fun or laughed or went out. How Olly reminded her of the fun she used to have. How she thought he was getting boring and putting his career before her and shutting her out. Then how she said that she didn't think she could do this anymore and wanted a "break".

Lily listened to it all; nodded in the right places, didn't interrupt or threaten to hex Rose. Sometimes, Scorpius thought in the midst of his rant, Slytherin's were very relaxing people to be around. They listened neutrally without their emotions getting in the way of their judgement. Maybe that's why he'd been put in Ravenclaw instead.

After he had let it all out, ending with, "And now I'm just lost. I mean, what am going to do? With the flat and our stuff and finding somewhere to live and...what do I do now?"

Lily did something he had only seen her do a handful of times to people she truly cared about. She gave him a hug.

Then she patted him on the back and said, "You take it one step at a time, Scorpius. One step at a time. Focus on the little things and the big stuff works out."

She stood up and dusted herself off. "Well, you have a place to stay, obviously, so you can cross the off the list." She turned back to him and saw the confused look on his face.

"Here, you daft git! Mum and Dad would be happy to have you. And mine and Al's place in town, we've got a spare room. Merlin, even Molly would take you in. You are family now you realise?"

Scorpius shook his head, a little overwhelmed at her last comment, "Potter, I just broke up with a Weasley. I think you're the daft one. Besides, I don't want to be a burden."

Lily rolled her eyes and turned back to her bike, muttering something that sounded distinctly like "Sodding pompous purebloods."

He was about retort when Rose's voice ripped through the air,

"LILY!" Scorpius leapt up like a startled hippogriff and looked around wildly for an exit. Lily shook her head and beckoned him back to the large truck he had been sitting on, hoisting open the lid.

"Get in," she said calmly. He looked at like she'd gone mad.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Do you want to hide or not?"

He still thought she'd lost the plot, but, considering the alternative, he nodded and climbed into the musty old trunk. As she shut the lid he realised it was much bigger on the inside than it was on the outside and he was able to sit quite comfortably. Thank Merlin.

"Oi! Lily, are you here?!" She was closer now.

He heard Lily make her way back to Sirius' bike and start rattling some tools around. She started singing again, a song he didn't recognise, so he thought it must be a muggle one,

"The bitch and the bitch and the bitch is back..." he snorted. _So she does have a sense of humour_, he thought in amusement.

"Lily!" Rose sounded like she had finally reached the shed, "For Merlin's sake, why didn't you answer me?!"

"I just figured if you knew I was here you'd find me eventually."

"Whatever! Have you seen Scorp?" His heart jumped and his stomach turned at her using his nick-name.

"No, not since you two were at mine and Al's last week." It was amazing really, how well the lie rolled off her tongue, "Why? Lost your other half? He finally came to his senses and did a runner?"

_Ouch, low blow._ Scorpius could practically feel the glare that Rose would be directing at Lily at that moment and see in his mind's eye her face going red.

"Not that I would expect a child like you to understand, _Petal, _but Scorp and I just broke up. I haven't seen him since he left this morning. I'm worried." Now she sounded close to tears and all Scorpius wanted to do was jump out of the trunk and wrap his arms around her. Unfortunately, Lily seemed to have locked said trunk.

_Slimy fucking Slytherin's!_ He thought violently, punching the lid of the chest. She must have Muffiliato'd it too, because neither Lily nor Rose reacted to the loud THUMP as his fist connected.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Rose", he heard Lily say, her voice a bit softer now having lost its normal ice-cold edge, "Have you checked with Al?"

"Of course I have! He hasn't seen him either! Where else would he even go? Not to the Manor, his parents are in France at the moment."

"How about you owl him?" Silence.

Three seconds later, "Why didn't I think of that?! Thanks Lil!"

He heard the patter of feet as Rose sprinted out of the shed to head home and send her letter.

He punched the lid of the trunk again and tried to get out. To his surprise it opened straight away. She must have lifted the charm already. He leapt up and out.

"What in Merlin's name are you playing at Potter?!"

"Calm down, Malfoy. Have a think about it. How would it have looked to Rose if you had leapt out of a trunk in the shed that only I was in? After she had just broken up with you?"

Scorpius thought for a moment then had to admit she had a point. Rose was the jealous type. Clever witch. He really owed her actually.

"Thanks, Lily," he said quietly. She shrugged,

"Anytime, Scorpius. Now, go find Al and borrow the cloak. Go back to your flat, clear out your things and drop them in our spare room. You can stay as long as you need to; tell Al the Boss given you permission."

He smiled slightly at her calling herself 'the Boss.' Well, let's face it, it was probably true.

"Lily, you're kind of crazy, you know?"

She barked out a laugh, "Yeah, I've been told. Now bugger off, I want to fix this today and drive it home."

He shook his head, said goodbye and headed out of the shed to the edge of the wards so he could apparate to Al and Lily's place. He heard the faint some of her singing again,

"...it's times like these we learn to love again, its times like these time and time again..."

She had a song for all occasions apparently. He was strangely glad it was her that was here to help him and not Al.


	2. The Time Lily Lost It

**The Time Lily Lost It**

To put it mildly, Rose was not happy that Scorpius was staying with Albus and Lily. It seemed to her that they were "taking Scorpius' side." Lily personally thought this was ridiculous. It was no-ones place to take sides in someone else's relationship break up. They were offering a friend a place to stay, nothing more.

Unfortunately, Lily's Uncle Ron was on his daughter Rose's 'side', making life rather difficult for many of the family members, especially her Aunt Hermione and her dad. Scorpius hated that there was such a fuss and he was the cause.

Sunday brunch at Grandma and Granddad Weasley's was a very awkward occasion for quite some months. But, as it always does, time passed. Scorpius moved in with Albus and Lily as a permanent flatmate. The family got used to it. Rose started dating Olly Jordan again and the world calmed down to a relatively peaceful hum.

However, Albus and Lily could tell that Scorpius was suffering. He went to work at the Ministry (apprentice in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement), came home, ate, read a book, slept and repeated. He didn't go out, didn't socialise, and didn't smile. It was killing Albus. He was torn in two, since Rose was his cousin and also his first friend, but Scorpius was his best friend. It was not killing Lily. Lily was pissed that one, Rose had hurt one of the few people she considered to be a good person, and two that said person was just wallowing in his misery. Wallowing did not sit well with Lily Potter, but neither did confrontation. So this carried on for months. And months. And months.

It was a snowy day in mid-January that Lily finally lost it. Her temper, her tolerance and almost the plot. All it took was a sigh. They were all seated around the fire place in their favourite armchairs. Albus was reading Quidditch Weekly, Scorpius was re-reading Tolkien's "The Silmarillion" and Lily was working her way through a very dense essay on modern breakthroughs in potion-making for her research. Scorpius looked away from his book into the fire and sighed. And Lily exploded.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" she roared, dropping her essay onto her lap and nearly giving Albus and Scorpius a heart attack, "YOU'VE DONE NOTHING BUT MOPE FOR MONTHS! YOU'RE WORTH MORE THAN PINING AFTER ROSE BLOODY WEASLEY! GROW A BACKBONE AND GET OVER YOURSELF! IVE HAD IT WITH YOU WALLOWING IN YOUR OWN SELF-INFLICTED MISERY! YOU DESERVE BETTER! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER YOU USELESS PANSY PUREBLOOD! IT"S PATHETIC!"

With a final "ARGH!" Lily threw her hands up in the air, snatched up her research and marched out of the room. Albus and Scorpius turned and looked at each other in shock. Lily's footstep retreated until they heard a vague "thump" as the door to the cellar where she had her potions lab set up slammed shut.

"Look, mate –"Albus started.

"No," Scorpius interrupted, still looking a bit dazed, "It's, it's fine. I mean, it's been months. Rose –" he stopped to swallow thickly, "Rose has moved on. She's got her life sorted. I've just been avoiding it."

He shook his head. "Merlin's balls, I don't think I have ever heard her raise her voice!"

Albus snickered, "Yea, I think you're a special case, mate. You really pissed her off."

All of a sudden they were laughing, absolutely howling with laughter, tears pouring down their faces. Scorpius felt months of tension start to lift from his shoulders,

"Her face!" he spluttered,

"I know!" Albus chortled, "She looked like banshee!"

"Deranged!"

"Mental!"

They lost it in laughter again.

After a while they managed to calm themselves down to the occasional chuckle.

"She's something else, your sister," Scorpius said seriously.

"Yea, she's pretty wicked. Just don't tell her I told you," Albus said, "She still thinks I think that Teddy is the coolest in the family."

"You're secret's safe with me, mate," Scorpius replied with a grin, "I should probably go and apologise for my deplorable behaviour, shouldn't I?"

"I would definitely recommend it. Slytherins expect credit where credit is due and all that."

With that, Scorpius hoisted himself out of his chair and headed off to the little red door at the end of the hall – the entry to the cellar/Lily's potion lab.

He knocked tentatively. "Er, Lily? You in there?" He knocked harder and the door swung open on its own accord. He peeked his head around and into the dark stairwell.

"Lily?"

"Well, come in then!" he heard her shout from below.

Taking that as a good sign, he made his way down the narrow wooden staircase into the brightly lit cellar. He had never actually been in here before, he realised, having had no cause to.

The cellar was huge. It lay under half the house and extended a bit under the back garden. Circular with a stone floor and walls, but a warm wooden ceiling, it was lit with pale yellow witch-fire in mason jars floating about a foot from the ceiling. Bookcases coated the left arch of the room from floor to ceiling and cabinets and shelves stuffed with tools and ingredients on the right. The centre of the room held two long workbenches about waist height and were scattered with various papers, books and plants. A huge cauldron held court in the centre of the room between them, with smaller ones on Bunsen burners bubbling away on the workbenches. Lily herself was slowly stirring something in one of the smaller cauldrons on the far workbench. She looked up and nodded quickly to him as he entered the room before removing the wooden spoon from the potion, turning off the Bunsen burner and quickly putting a lid on top.

Turning to face him fully as he approached, she said formally, "I apologise for my earlier outburst, Scorpius. It is not my place to comment on how you live your life. I was just-"

"Exasperated? Pissed off? Sick of my moodiness?" Scorpius interrupted with a grin.

"Well," Lily replied starting to smile slowly, "I was going to say concerned, but sure, any of the above will do."

"Don't apologise. I've been a mopey git and _I'm_ sorry. I had no idea it was getting to you."

"Since I've now that I have aired my grievances, how about we call it even then?"

"Even it is" Scorpius agreed and held out his hand.

Lily took it and they shook hands, both grinning. "Pleasure to have you back, Malfoy," she said.

"Trust me Potter, the pleasure is all mine."


	3. The Time the Potter Family Became

**The Time the Potter Family became (if possible) a Bit More Famous**

Months passed again and all was going well. Albus was planning a trip to Romania to visit Uncle Charlie at the dragon reserve and Scorpius had worked his way from apprentice to assistant to the Head in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Rose had dumped poor Olly Jordan, but was currently dating a colleague called Asher MacDougal. Victoire and Teddy had announced their engagement two months gone and Molly was promoted to senior Healer in the Spell Damage Ward of St Mungos. It was a good time for the family in general.

With the exception of one Lily Luna Potter. It was well known that Lily and her mother, Ginny Potter, did not see eye to eye.

Lily had saved her galleons to travel and work her way through Europe for four years; from the summer after her 7th year at Hogwarts right up until two years ago. Her mother felt that the time and money would have been put to better use with further study.

Lily currently worked part time at Slug and Jiggers Apothecary in Diagon Alley, and part time in the Potions and Plant Poisoning Ward in St Mungos. Ginny felt this was a waste of her talent.

Lily was an independent and unattached single witch and very happy about it (especiallay after a disastrous attempt at a relationship while in Italy). Ginny felt that at the age of 24 she should at least have a boyfriend (look at Rose, Victoire and lovely Alice Longbottom!).

The list goes on.

This all came to head one sunny afternoon in late June when the fireplace at the Potter House flared up and out emerged Lily. Instead of standing in the middle of the living room and announcing her presence by yelling for her parents as her brothers were apt to do, she brushed herself off and headed quickly but quietly up the stairs to her dad's study, a big grin on her face.

She knocked in a certain pattern so her dad would know it was her and pushed open the door. Harry Potter was sitting at his desk surrounded by mountains of papers, maps, memos and various curious looking artefacts that Aurors tend to collect.

"Hey Dad" Lily said as she walked in, trying not to bounce in excitement. He looked up and smiled, straightening his glasses unconsciously.

"Hey Lilybug!" he said getting out of his chair and engulfing her in a hug, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Lily laughed, "What makes you think I didn't just come to say hello?"

Harry laughed with her, "Because you can barely stand still and you have an uncharacteristic grin on your face. You practically look like Gryffindor!"

Lily immediately plastered smooth emotionless look on her face. "I do not know what you mean," she said haughtily, her nose in the air. "I assure you, I am perfectly composed."

This effect was ruined by Harry's renewed laughter.

It was this very laughter that bought Ginny into the room.

"Hello Lily!" she said, coming forward to give her a hug, "I didn't hear the Floo. How's life? Got a man on the cards yet?"

Lily returned the hug, albeit briefly, and replied somewhat coldly, "No. No I do not. I do, however, have an announcement to make. Can you both come downstairs to the fireplace? I've asked Al, Scorpius, Teddy, Molly, Grandma and Granddad, Lucy, Kat, Uncle George and Aunt Mione to come over too."

"Wow Lil, this must be quite an announcement. Is everything alright?" Harry asked, a bit concerned.

"Everything is amazing, Dad, don't worry," Lily replied with a smile.

They headed downstairs to find the aforementioned group gathered, as promised, in the living room.

Once they saw Lily, Harry and Ginny, they all started taking at once.

Lily let loose a piercing whistle from her wand that silenced everyone.

"Alright you lot. You're all here because I want you to know first before the Prophet gets wind of it. I have an announcement. But first, I need to introduce you to my co-conspirator, Dario …" Lily stuck her head in the fireplace and called home, had a quick chat with someone on the other side and popped her head back out again. A tall young man with olive skin and short black curls followed her head out of the fire. He was dressed in dark blue wizards robes and looked to be in his late 20's. He smiled and waved at the group, not at all fazed by 11 people staring at him. He said something to Lily in rapid Italian, to which she answered back in the same language.

Turning back to her family, grin wide on her face, she opened her mouth only to have her mother cut her off.

"LILY LUNA POTTER!" Ginny roared, causing the entire room of people to jump a foot in the air, "IF YOU ARE PREGNANT OUT OF WEDLOCK, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THIS! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?! WHEN IS THE WEDDING?"

She took another breath, no doubt to have another go, when Harry cut her off.

"Ginevra" he said lowly and angrily, "You will give Lily a chance to announce her news HERSELF and you will not say another word until she is finished."

She looked up at him angrily, about to protest but stopped at the look on his face.

The rest of the room was deathly silent. Even George hadn't made a sound.

Harry turned back to his daughter, who was staring at her mother with a very cold expression on her face tht reminded him eerily of photos he had seem of his grandmother, Dorea Potter, nee Black.

"Lilybug?" Harry prompted softly.

Lily's eyes flicked to her fathers and her face thawed somewhat. She closed her eyes as if to gather her strength. Dario clapped a hand on her shoulder and she flicked a small smile at him gratefully.

Drawing herself up to her full height (only about 5'2'') she announced, "We have gathered you here today to announce that Dario and I have created a cure for Dragonpox."

Silence. Then an uproar. Everyone was cheering and talking at once. They all wanted to know how? When? Who was this Italian bloke? Hermione was crying from being so proud, Harry had engulfed Lily in another hug and refused to let her go, everyone was surrounding Lily in a messy people filled bubble of pride, excitement, confusion and love.

This chaos ensued for quite some time and Lily and Dario told and re-told their story in a mix of English and Italian.

They had met in Italy when Lily got a job in a potions shop in Florence; hitting it off from the start over their mutual passion for potions, old school wizarding bands and motorbikes. They started to experiment with different potions in the old lab at the back of the shop before eventually moving their base of operations to Dario's grandfather's personal potions lab. It had begun as a hobby and a competition; creating potions, breaking them down, mixing up antidotes and the like.

Once they realised that their combined knowledge and skill amounted to that of an above average healer or professor, they decided to get serious. They picked Dragonpox as their project (as it continued to take increasing amounts of lives each year) and employed both muggle and magical means of finding a cure; an idea derived from Lily's in depth discussions with her Aunt Hermione and Dario's tutoring with his grandfather, who is also a muggleborn.

It got complicated when Lily eventually went back to England, but they had remained in contact by Floo, letters and the occasional visit in person. The breakthrough had come up a few months previously, not long after Lily's blow-up at Scorpius. Lily was going over Dario's notes and realised that they hadn't tried adding Murtlap Essence _before_ the Indian Lilac with a counter clockwise stir. She brewed the standard in-progress potion they had worked out as a base, added in the extra steps and left it to brew. Once Lily was satisfied with the result, she applied a couple of drops to a Dragonpox culture she had acquired from St Jude Thaddeus's Ospedale per Magico Problemi (The National Wizarding Hospital in Rome).

Checking it two days later she saw that the Pox was gone. She immediately Floo'd Dario and he travelled straight to England and into her cellar to see the results. By that time, she had tried it on three other cultures of the Pox and all had cured it. After that, it was a whirlwind. They tested, re-tested, made and re-made the potion. They told Dario's grandfather and he had arranged a meeting with the board of St Jude Thaddeus's and St Mungo's. Contracts were drawn up to protect both parties and testing on terminally ill patients began (with their permission of course).

The potion, now called the Dragonpox Cure, was a roaring success and had no known side effects. Dario and Lily had just settled the financial aspect of their contract, officially selling the potion recipe to each hospital.

And that was their story. It was told with many exclamations, interruptions, and seemingly endless questions.

The last bombshell Lily made was to let her family know that she had, with her new-found gold, commissioned a new wing for St Mungo's; a magical research wing that she and Dario would both take over as Directors, Overseers and Heads of Research.

That then led to another barrage of cheers, congratulations, and exclamations of pride. It was a very late hour that the group finally dissipated to each troop home, heads and hearts abuzz with pride, love and excitement for Lily and Dario.

Albus and Scorpius had just Floo'd home with Dario in tow, as he was staying on the couch for a few weeks while he sorted out the details in moving to England.

That just left Lily, her father and her mother. Ginny had been very quiet throughout the entire night, and she remained quiet now. Harry was still talking with Lily. Ginny looked on silently and watched. Lily was animated; laughing, hands waving as she described something, eyes lit up. She did not look like the cold, aloof and reserved woman that Ginny saw whenever she came home to visit. Ginny finally realised that she did not know her daughter much at all, and that she probably hadn't since she had left for Hogwarts and been Sorted into Slytherin. And it was very clear, however, that Harry did know the real Lily. Ginny also realised how awful she had been earlier that evening, jumping to conclusions that Lily had given her no cause to jump to. The hot, uncomfortable feeling of shame and regret swelled within her, making tears spring to her eyes. She held them in, as she did not want to ruin Lily's night even further by feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she walked over to her husband and daughter, reached out and brushed her hand lightly over Lily's shoulder, trying not to feel hurt when she flinched almost imperceptibly.

"Lily," Ginny started, as they both turned to her, "I want to start off by apologising. I had no cause to assume the worst from you tonight, and yet I did. Instead of discussing it with you privately, I screamed it out for the world to here. I know this isn't the first time either."

Lily, frowning slightly, opened her mouth to speak, but Ginny put up a hand, "No, please let me get this out. You have no idea how immeasurably proud I am of you. You are the first Potter in Slytherin in many, many generations. I know that would not have been easy with your housemates. You worked so, so hard in school and had almost as many OWLs as Rose and Victoire. Instead of using your inheritance, you worked like a House Elf to save to go to Europe and travel. And now, not only have you found a profession you love, but you have excelled in it and given the entire Wizarding World cause celebrate. You, my darling daughter, are a hero in all sense of the word. You make me so proud and I am so sorry."

Harry was grinning at Ginny like a crazy school kid. Lily was staring at her like she had grown another head. Ginny reached forward and tucked a lock of Lily's hair behind her ears and kissed her on the forehead.

"Goodnight Lilybug," she said quietly.

Before she could turn, Lily suddenly surged forward and grabbed her mother in a tight hug, which Ginny fiercely returned. They stood there for a moment until Lily let go just as quickly and stood back. A single tear rolled down her face, although her expression was schooled to neutrality. She nodded once at her parents then turned on the spot, jumped into the raging green fire and Floo'd home.

Ginny, tears streaming down her face, look up at her husband. Harry was still grinning that idiotic grin that took 10 years of age off his face. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly against him, hands stroking her back.

"She didn't say anything!" Ginny sobbed, "What if it's too late? What if she hates me?"

"She hugged you, you daft bint!" laughed Harry softly, "Lil hardly hugs anyone! It's going to be fine. You're amazing, you know that?"

Ginny snorted through her tears, "I don't feel amazing. I feel like a lousy parent."

"You are not a lousy parent," Harry said seriously, "You are, however, a lousy wife for getting my new shirt wet and snotty."

Ginny launched herself backward and slapped his chest. "That's enough from you, Mr Potter," she exclaimed, brushing away her tears, "Now be nice or suffer the bat-bogie hex!"


	4. The Time Sunday Brunch Got Very Awkward

**The Time Sunday Brunch got very, very awkward**

To say that life had been hectic for Lily over the last few months would be an understatement. It turns out that setting up a new wing in a hospital is not a small feat; let alone being responsible for stocking said wing with supplies, employees and a purpose. Lily and Dario had been swamped, but it was now finally coming together and they had the luxury of a Sunday off. This, of course, meant lunch at the Burrow.

Dario had met most of Lily's family that was closest to her, but not all. Today was the day. They arrived fashionably early, as Lily was physically incapable of being late, which guaranteed them prime spots at the head of the table next to her grandparents, Scorpius, Teddy and the best bread rolls in England.

People piled in and out over the course of the afternoon, all stopping and saying hello to the new face at the table and Dario being able to put a face to each name.

The fireplace flared up around 3pm and Rose stumbled out, red hair askew. She straightened up, flicked her wand at her red hair so it flowed down her back, waved hello to everyone and made an automatic beeline for the bread rolls. She was almost there when Lily saw her eyes flick to Scorpius and she faltered slightly, slowing her pace. Her eyes passed right over Lily and widened as they landed on Dario.

Rose pulled herself up straighter, lifted her chin, painted a half-smile on her face and changed direction. Heading around the table, past Scorpius and Lily, she sat herself down next to Dario.

"Hi!" she said brightly, throwing him a very wide smile "I'm Rose, Lily's cousin. You must be Dario."

"Ciao, Rose," Dario replied politely, "Pleasure to meet you."

That was all the encouragement Rose needed. She monopolised his time for the remainder of the afternoon, while Lily kept an eye on Scorpius. She wasn't sure if Rose was still a sensitive topic or not. The duty to look after him had fallen to her now that Albus had headed off home early (headache apparently, but she suspected a woman was involved).

Lily was pleasantly surprised to discover that Rose was not, in fact, a sensitive topic at all. Scorpius did not look even slightly upset about Rose's interest in Dario. He hadn't flinched when she Floo'd in, didn't have a sad look when she headed for the seat next to Dario and seemed genuinely happy chatting away to Teddy about his Great Aunt Andromeda.

Lily had excused herself from the table and was boiling the kettle for another cup of tea when she felt a light tap on her elbow, looking back and up to see Scorpius.

"Alright, Malfoy?" she asked quietly.

"Just fine, Potter," Scorpius answered with a soft laugh, "Why do you ask? And also, why do you insist on calling me Malfoy?"

Lily shrugged, "I ask because of Rose trying to chat up poor Dario. Why do you call me Potter?"

Scorpius looked at her like she had gone mad. "Lil, I am well over Rose. You can tell that to your nosy brother, too. It's been a year, maybe more? And secondly, I call you Potter because you call me Malfoy."

Lily shrugged again, "There we go then. What came first, the phoenix or the flame? I'll just call you Scorpius if it bothers you. Tea?"

Scorpius just rolled his eyes at her answering his question with a riddle, then nodded and she poured him a cup; with a tiny drop milk one sugar as she knew he liked it.

They leaned back on their elbows against the counter and surveyed the rest of the room. The crowd as thinning out now that it was nearly four. Scorpius saw Dario catch Lily's eye from across the room, sending her a very pointed look. Lily just smirked and raised an eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes. She sighed and muttered, "Fine".

Pushing herself off the bench she headed over and tapped Rose on the shoulder. Rose looked over and frowned, "What, Lily? I'm talking."

"Well you can stop talking. He's not interested."

"He's not your property! We are going to get coffee next week, right?" she flicked a smile back at Dario.

"Err, ahh-"

"See?" said Rose triumphantly, turning back to Lily, "Don't tell me you're jealous?! You've known him long enough, you had your chance."

Lily just rolled her eyes, "I'm not his type. Neither are you. Nor are any of the woman in this room actually. He fancies more along the Albus sort of person if you get what I mean."

From the look on her face, Rose just wasn't getting it. Lily sighed again.

"Dario is gay, Rose."

Her mouth dropped. She looked wildly between Lily and Dario gaping like a fish.

"I, well I. I mean, I didn't know, I…"

Dario looked highly amused, "I am most sorry. I thought you would have known or have been told."

"Oh, no! It's fine, completely fine, don't apologise!" Rose's face was bright red, "I just realised I've got this thing, really important, must dash, lovely to meet you!" She shook his hand wildly and leaped up from the table, shouting a goodbye to the rest of the family. Unfortunately, she got up too fast and tripped on the leg of the table, smacking right into Scorpius. She righted herself, pushed him away and dove into the fireplace, green flames engulfing her. Scorpius almost felt sorry for her.

Lily snorted in a very unladylike manner, "Knight in shining armour, to your rescue milord," she said to Dario sarcastically.

"Oh bella, what would have done without thee?"

"Gone to coffee by the sound of it, you wimpy git. You need to grow a backbone when it comes to the woman in my family, Dar, they can't take a hint."

Dario just ruffled his hair and shrugged, mumbling something in Italian that made Lily smack him on the shoulder and threaten him with the bat-bogie hex.

Scorpius looked at how comfortable the two of them were with each other. If he was honest, he thought they were dating before Lily had dropped the bombshell about the Dragonpox Cure. He hadn't seen her relax around many people, himself included. If there was a word for Lily, it would be "composed". There was a twist in his stomach, and Scorpius realised that he was actually jealous of Dario. That brought him up short. Why would he be jealous? Frowning, he looked at Lily closely.

She was short, not quite reaching his shoulder, and not skinny but more athletically built. She had cut her dark red hair again into a classy angle bob that suited her thin face. Her style was eclectic, mix of wizard and muggle. Today she was wearing tight muggle jeans, dragon leather biker boots, a deep burgundy top under loose, open black robes.

Her hazel eyes brightened when she smiled, which was a rare but beautiful thing. She honestly didn't care about many people, but she would die for those she did. She was stubborn, cold, quiet, intelligent, and surprising at almost every turn. And she didn't give a toss about what people thought about her. She flew a broom and her bike like a mad-woman with a death wish. And had an annoying sense of superiority, like she always knew something everyone else didn't.

But he liked her. She was different. She challenged him. He respected her. He liked talking to her and making her smile. The realisation that he may like her little bit more that what was proper for a flatmate and her brothers best mate only dawned on him now. Shit. When had that happened? Shit. Albus. Shit. Rose. Shit. Harry Fucking Potter. FUCK!

"Scorpius?" Lily's voice floated into his consciousness and he snapped back to reality. Lily and Dario were looking at him with concern, "Are you feeling alright?"

Scorpius gave himself a mental shake and pulled himself together with all the poise of a pureblood. His father would be proud.

"Yes. I'm fine. I'm sorry, I just got lost in my head for a bit there." He smiled convincingly.

Dario bought it. Lily didn't. She raised an eyebrow at him sceptically, but didn't say anything. Thank Merlin she wasn't one for making a scene.

He breathed a sigh of relief as she and Dario walked over to chat with Teddy about the wedding next month. Maybe he should go home, write a list, get his head sorted….home. Lily lives there. Merlin's balls!


End file.
